Or rather, catch-up. The past two weeks have been hectic, so I'm trying to summarize what
has happened to get back on my feet and then start over again.
The Friday following my first two days was with Steven, which was a change from what I had originally been scheduled to do. Since my schedule coincided with my class, I had to change it out so that my Thursday was free. Everything worked out, praise be, but my trainer seemed to want to do nothing with me. In fact, I don't know where he is normally, but I never see him around backstage, so perhaps he was a phantom!
I got to work at Dip Site with him, which was a relatively slow, all things considered-- I hadn't been certified for Responsible Vendor, however, so I had to get that done before I was set to work. Steven made training edgy. He was curt, disinterested, quiet. He wasn't terrible, but I think he was more interested in his iTouch and what was going on with Tiger Woods than to a trainee with a million questions. We had to close Dip Site, which, while not my first closing, was a bit of a nightmare as it was my first time cleaning a popcorn machine. Surprisingly enough, the popcorn machine gets a bad rap. It really wasn't that bad-- in fact, I found it therapeutic. It's tedious, yes, but it's a great way to wind down after a long day at work. I like Hollywood Studios, but it's a park that definitely caters to adults as well as kids, which makes it tough sometimes. Adults are difficult to deal with, especially when they stop being adults and turn into parents when they order beer. Big thing at Hollywood Studios: it isn't a dry sight. If you don't carry beer, you will get the most ridiculous pouts from adults unlike you've never seen!
I was nervous that my assessment was going to be the next day, but it wasn't. I had another training day to make up for my replaced day and that was with Denise as my trainer. I wasn't alone with day, either, which was a total plus. Bridget, another trainee, was there with me, and the three of us tackled Rock Station, Tip Board, and the dreaded Gertie's. Of the three, I preferred Rock Station because the atmosphere was really calm (also, Aerosmith over the loudspeakers? I was won over!). The Tip Board was a nightmare. It's a combo cart that sells soda and ice creams only and being outside, we're stuck with portable Matra systems. These are the portable registers, by the way. They function on radio waves, so half the time,they were slower than all get out. Being stuck at the front of the park with a line that's 20 people deep and a freezing Matra... is not fun. Everyone seems to want a fifty Mickey heads on a stick. I wanted one out of sweet vengeance.
The sad thing about those combo carts is that it was difficult even for three people-- they're usually manned by one person. I believe two people will be there during peak season, but otherwise it's a solo act.
We dropped by Gertie's at the end of the day, which is a tiny 3x3 (maybe!) room in the belly of this glorious beast:
Imagine three people packed in the belly of that beautiful, green creature, practically hurling waffle and sugar cones at soft-serve craving guests. Vanilla, soft-serve craving guests, who won't get their vanilla because the vanilla soft-serve is frozen solid.
This is an accurate depiction of what occurred in this situation.
What was that, Denise? We're closing Gertie's? Two un-eared trainees and a smart-mouthed trainer-- sounds like a delightful plan! So after Gertie the dinosaur closes her belly for the day, we stay back to clean her up. Remember how she's frozen solid? We have to wait for her to thaw out to actually get the blades out to clean... which involves one full-time: Carlos, a makeshift power-hose, and constant hot-water splashes. We had to MacGuyver that situation. What is that my dad always tells me? Improvise, adapt, overcome! Let sit for 20 minutes while we poke our heads into the Coffee Cart at the front of the park before leaving again. Fun, fun! Gertie's took about an extra hour and a half to actually close for the night, and when we got back to the back dock, we smelled like warm, watered-down milk. Not a pleasant scent, mind. Bridget was miserable-- she still wants to switch to merchandise. The likelihood of that is slim to none.
There's talk of shutting Gertie down permanently, and while I didn't enjoy my experience there, I'll be sad to see her go. After all, Gertie the dinosaur was a precursor to animated works-- they said she inspired Walt to create Mickey in the first place. I hope they keep her in the park, even if she closes for business.
It's hard remembering that I'm adult now and a whole 20 years old at that. I still think of myself as Mami and Papi's little girl, but I've come to the realization that I need to grow up. That I have and I haven't. I'm getting there, but there are stages I have to go through and steps I have to climb to get there. I'm beginning to understand where my parents are coming from, and how important it is for a crab to have its green shell. I have a new appreciation for what my mom and dad went through when I was growing up, of the sacrifices they made for our (my brother and I) benefit. It's amazing how much a person's eyes can open in just a couple of days, and to think they're not even fully opened yet.
I'll post again tomorrow of the fun times and moments I've had within the past two or so weeks, then hopefully I'll be able to go back to keeping a regular journal.
has happened to get back on my feet and then start over again.The Friday following my first two days was with Steven, which was a change from what I had originally been scheduled to do. Since my schedule coincided with my class, I had to change it out so that my Thursday was free. Everything worked out, praise be, but my trainer seemed to want to do nothing with me. In fact, I don't know where he is normally, but I never see him around backstage, so perhaps he was a phantom!
I got to work at Dip Site with him, which was a relatively slow, all things considered-- I hadn't been certified for Responsible Vendor, however, so I had to get that done before I was set to work. Steven made training edgy. He was curt, disinterested, quiet. He wasn't terrible, but I think he was more interested in his iTouch and what was going on with Tiger Woods than to a trainee with a million questions. We had to close Dip Site, which, while not my first closing, was a bit of a nightmare as it was my first time cleaning a popcorn machine. Surprisingly enough, the popcorn machine gets a bad rap. It really wasn't that bad-- in fact, I found it therapeutic. It's tedious, yes, but it's a great way to wind down after a long day at work. I like Hollywood Studios, but it's a park that definitely caters to adults as well as kids, which makes it tough sometimes. Adults are difficult to deal with, especially when they stop being adults and turn into parents when they order beer. Big thing at Hollywood Studios: it isn't a dry sight. If you don't carry beer, you will get the most ridiculous pouts from adults unlike you've never seen!
I was nervous that my assessment was going to be the next day, but it wasn't. I had another training day to make up for my replaced day and that was with Denise as my trainer. I wasn't alone with day, either, which was a total plus. Bridget, another trainee, was there with me, and the three of us tackled Rock Station, Tip Board, and the dreaded Gertie's. Of the three, I preferred Rock Station because the atmosphere was really calm (also, Aerosmith over the loudspeakers? I was won over!). The Tip Board was a nightmare. It's a combo cart that sells soda and ice creams only and being outside, we're stuck with portable Matra systems. These are the portable registers, by the way. They function on radio waves, so half the time,they were slower than all get out. Being stuck at the front of the park with a line that's 20 people deep and a freezing Matra... is not fun. Everyone seems to want a fifty Mickey heads on a stick. I wanted one out of sweet vengeance.
The sad thing about those combo carts is that it was difficult even for three people-- they're usually manned by one person. I believe two people will be there during peak season, but otherwise it's a solo act.
We dropped by Gertie's at the end of the day, which is a tiny 3x3 (maybe!) room in the belly of this glorious beast:
Imagine three people packed in the belly of that beautiful, green creature, practically hurling waffle and sugar cones at soft-serve craving guests. Vanilla, soft-serve craving guests, who won't get their vanilla because the vanilla soft-serve is frozen solid. This is an accurate depiction of what occurred in this situation.
What was that, Denise? We're closing Gertie's? Two un-eared trainees and a smart-mouthed trainer-- sounds like a delightful plan! So after Gertie the dinosaur closes her belly for the day, we stay back to clean her up. Remember how she's frozen solid? We have to wait for her to thaw out to actually get the blades out to clean... which involves one full-time: Carlos, a makeshift power-hose, and constant hot-water splashes. We had to MacGuyver that situation. What is that my dad always tells me? Improvise, adapt, overcome! Let sit for 20 minutes while we poke our heads into the Coffee Cart at the front of the park before leaving again. Fun, fun! Gertie's took about an extra hour and a half to actually close for the night, and when we got back to the back dock, we smelled like warm, watered-down milk. Not a pleasant scent, mind. Bridget was miserable-- she still wants to switch to merchandise. The likelihood of that is slim to none.
There's talk of shutting Gertie down permanently, and while I didn't enjoy my experience there, I'll be sad to see her go. After all, Gertie the dinosaur was a precursor to animated works-- they said she inspired Walt to create Mickey in the first place. I hope they keep her in the park, even if she closes for business.
It's hard remembering that I'm adult now and a whole 20 years old at that. I still think of myself as Mami and Papi's little girl, but I've come to the realization that I need to grow up. That I have and I haven't. I'm getting there, but there are stages I have to go through and steps I have to climb to get there. I'm beginning to understand where my parents are coming from, and how important it is for a crab to have its green shell. I have a new appreciation for what my mom and dad went through when I was growing up, of the sacrifices they made for our (my brother and I) benefit. It's amazing how much a person's eyes can open in just a couple of days, and to think they're not even fully opened yet.
I'll post again tomorrow of the fun times and moments I've had within the past two or so weeks, then hopefully I'll be able to go back to keeping a regular journal.
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